A new Beginning: Naruto Fanfic
by the-son-of-kami
Summary: Naruto and Jiraiya return from their three year training trip. Naruto has learned Sage mode and has some control of the Kyubi. but is he strong enough to face the new enemies that threaten the peaceful existence of the leaf? read and find out WARNING: slight AU and may contain lemon later on. this is my first legitimate fanfic so please R&R, any criticism or advice will help
1. Chapter 1: Return of the toads

**A/N: EDITED: 2/22/13**

"naruto"-speaking

'_naruto_'-thought

"**naruto**"**-**kyubi in mindscape

'**naruto**'/'naruto'-link between **bijuu**/jinchuriki\

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... yet. Im sending a letter to Kishi-san asking for the rights.

Chapter 1: The return of The Toads

It was a bright day in Konohagakure No Sato. The Godaime Hokage, Tsunade Senju, stood at her office window admiring the grand Hokage monument that acted as a backdrop to the peaceful hidden village. She sighed as her gaze fell upon the most recent addition to the monument; the large visage of herself filled her vision as she scrutinized the tiniest of details.

"I swear" she said more to herself than anyone else "my face is not that wide"

As she was turning around to go back to her desk for her favorite daytime beverage, sake, she caught a glimpse of orange out of the corner of her eye. She turned back to look at it and smiled as she walked to the window and opened the window to allow the small toad into the room.

"Hello Gamakichi!" she greeted the small toad summons happily, hoping for news on her two favorite knuckleheads "any news on Naruto and Jiraiya?" she asked hopefully.

The small toad smiled and in a puff of smoke was many times bigger than previously assumed "I can do you one better Tsunade-san" the toad said and without further explanation, he coughed up a scroll and unraveled it on the floor in front of the desk. The scroll held a complex seal array inside of it and Tsunade watched in anticipation as Gamakichi sliced his thumb with a kunai on the desk and went through some hand signs and slammed his hand down on the scroll. In a large puff of smoke, two figures appeared in the office "we're back Baa-chan! Did you miss us?" asked a tall spiky-haired blonde with blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks.

Tsunade couldn't help but smile, even with the remark about her age, as the blonde smiled "yes I did Naruto. Welcome back to konoha" said the Hokage as she hugged the young blonde "now stand still so I can get a look at you" she said as she pulled back and held him at arm's length so she could inspect him. She wasn't surprised to find that he was an inch taller than her now, he wore a mesh chainmail under shirt that extended halfway down his biceps. He also wore a black short sleeve T-shirt with orange seams and flak vest with black ANBU pants and kunai/shuriken holsters on his thighs above bandage wrappings. She noticed a pouch on his hip with the kanji for "cargo" on it and she could only assume that it had a seal that allowed it to hold the same amount as a small storage bin. The cloth to his hitai ate was now black and the metal plate that held the village symbol was covered in scratches.

"Well, it certainly doesn't scream "come kill me, I'm over here" to the enemy" she stated matter-of-factly. Naruto scratched the back of his head and flashed his trademark grin "yeeeaah' he breathed "Erosennin said that too when I decided against the jumpsuit" said pervert was currently restrained by Gamakichi so he couldn't bash Narutos' skull in "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT GAKI?! I'VE TOLD YOU TO CALL ME JIRAIYA-SENSEI OR JIRAIYA-SAMA!" the toad sannin yelled angrily. After several more futile attempts to reach the young blonde the older shinobi decided to give up.

"Okay" said Tsunade after several minutes of catching up "tell me what you've accomplished Naruto so we can update your file" she said switching to business mode.

Naruto smirked "should I show her "everything"?" he asked the toad sage. Jaraiya smiled and nodded while Tsunade raised an eyebrow in question.

Naruto nodded and crossed his arms and closed his eyes. After several seconds he was suddenly surrounded by an orange/red chakra and three fox tails materialized along with a pair of ears. Tsunade paled at the sight of the fox cloak and looked at Jiraiya as if to confirm what she was seeing was true. The toad sage just smirked and nodded to Naruto as if to say 'pay attention'. Tsunade turned her attention back to the young jinchuriki and her eyes widened at the sight of the barred/slitted pupils and red rings around his eyes.

"S-s-s-sage techniques!?" the Hokage stuttered "a-and he has some control over the fox's chakra. I'm impressed by your progress Naruto. Which is why I'm almost afraid to ask if there is any more?" She said with poorly hidden pride for her adopted grandson's achievements.

Naruto smirked as he dropped the chakra cloak and sage mode. "Just a few" he said as he reached into his "cargo" pouch and produced a three pronged kunai with a seal array on the handle. Tsunade's eyes bulged at the sight of the kunai "I-i-is that a hiraishin kunai?" she asked with barely contained excitement. That excitement was short lived though as she realized what it must also imply "Naruto?" she asked hesitantly "does this mean that you know who you-" "yes Baa-chan, I know who my father AND my mother are" Naruto interrupted already having known what she was going to ask "Erosennin told me during my training, I also know how my father sacrificed himself and couldn't ask someone else to do something to their child that he couldn't do to his. I also know how he didn't want me told 'til I was a jounin or I turned eighteen. I was also informed on how my mother was the jinchuriki before me and how she died shortly after the seal was broken. I don't blame any of you, I'm just glad to know that I had such awesomely strong ninja for parents!" he said loudly from the excitement "I mean, TWO kage level shinobi AND my father was one of the strongest ninja of all time!"

Tsunade sighed in relief at the way Naruto took the news "so… anything else I should know about your skills so we can classify you properly?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto smirked again "weeeeeeell, I have two elemental affinities, fuuton and suiton, and I am working on the Uzumaki clan Kenjutsu style, I've mastered the Rasengan one handed and I have added my elements to create Two high power S-Rank Jutsu, I've mastered Frog kumite taijutsu, I have a decent affinity for the Goken style that Gai-sensei and Bushy-Brows use and I have a basic understanding of the Juukin style of the Hyuuga clan and I'm a high level seal master." He ticked off these things on his fingers "OH! And by last count, I can make about fifteen hundred kagebunshin without exhausting, about two thousand using sage chakra and umm thirty seven hundred with the three tailed fox cloak, give or take a few" he said as if he were conversing about the weather.

That was the last straw for Tsunade, she reached into a drawer and grabbed a bottle of sake, pulled out the cork and took a nice long swig of the alcohol. After she finished her drink she placed the bottle on the desk and sighed. She looked at Naruto "well, I think this classifies you as an S-Rank shinobi, but we need to test your combat skills, so how about during the next Chunin Exams, which are being held here, why don't you and…" she paused to think for a moment and then a sickeningly sweet smile came to her face ".. I have a rematch? If you beat me, or put up a good fight, I will promote you to chunin and label you as an S-Rank shinobi" Naruto stared blankly before his face broke into a smile "you're on Baa-chan!" he yelled enthusiastically "when are the Chunin Exams?" The excitable blonde asked "three months the first test begins, four months and a week until the finals" she said looking down at one of the papers on her desk.

The three continued with idle chatter for a few more minutes before Naruto decided it was time for him to go. As he bid Tsunade and Jiraiya farewell as he walked towards the window he stopped and admired the newly improved monument "you look good up there Baa-chan, but not as good as I will one day" and with that he tossed a Hiraishin off into the distance and in a flash of light he left the two sannin alone to catch up.

"So" Jiraiya said conversationally "how about a date?" the vein in Tsunades forehead pulsed as she knocked him through a wall right past Shizune, who wasn't too surprised to see the toad sage, she had sensed him and Naruto as soon as they had been reverse summoned by Gamakichi.

"Tsunade-sama" Shizune called through the Jiraiya shaped hole "shall I call the contractor to fix the wall or would you rather try and fix it yourself again?" she asked. Tsunade sighed "No Shizune, I'll just end up breaking it more, just call the contractor" she sighed and finished off the bottle of sake on her desk in a swift gulp "It's nice to have things back to normal around here" she said with a smile.

**I HOPE THAT'S BETTER, I FIXED THE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS ALONG WITH ADDING SOME COMICAL RELIEF. HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY. THE NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE UP BY SUNDAY. UNTIL THEN, I LOVE YOU ALL**


	2. Chapter 2: Reunion, discovery and a spar

**A/N: I'm back! And this is the next installment of "A new Beginning". I'm so excited! And thank you to all the followers of this story, it's only been 4 days and it's already got 13 followers! Lets keep it going!**

"Naruto"-speaking

'_Naruto_'-thought

"**Naruto**"-kyubi in mindscape

'**Naruto**'/'naruto'-link between **bijuu**/jinchuriki

disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. Kishi-san hasn't written me back yet.

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Chapter 2: Reunion, discovery and a spar

Shikamaru, the lazy genius, lay on top of the Hokage monument staring at the clouds lazily. He sighed contently '_Temari is gonna be here in just under a week'_ he thought idly '_I wonder if we'll be able to sneak off for dinner this time around' _he continued his musings for several more minutes until a flash of yellow interrupted his thoughts of the sand konoichi. He looked to the source of the light and jumped in surprise at what he saw

"N-Naruto!?" he yelled in surprise "is that really you?"

Naruto chuckled "for a genius that was a pretty stupid question" he said with a smirk "who else do you know with bright blonde hair and whisker marks on their cheeks?" he asked indicating his defining characteristics.

Shikamaru grumbled under his breath about "troublesome blondes" as he stood up. He smiled a lazy smile as he extended his hand to Naruto "It's good to see you again Naruto". The blonde shinobi flashed his trademark grin as he accepted the hand and shook it firmly.

After they disengaged from the handshake, Shikamaru took in Narutos appearance. He noted the lack of the "kill me" orange jumpsuit; he looked over Narutos new attire and couldn't help but feel envious of the toned physique that was poorly hidden by his tight shirt. Another thing he noted was that the way Naruto carried himself screamed confidence and power. Suddenly, he was interrupted from his assessment by the sound of bushes rustling and the distinct sound of light conversation.

Shikamaru smirked at Naruto "looks like I'm not the only one whose gonna get a surprise today" he said as he looked towards the tree line.

Narutos confusion by this statement was only momentary as he took in the distinct strawberry pink and platinum blonde heads emerging from the trees. They seemed to be oblivious to Narutos presence due to the conversation they were having. After a few moments, he began to hear parts of the conversation.

"I'm serious Sakura!" Ino said "I was walking by the Hokage tower to meet up with you and I looked up at the office windows and I saw this guy throw something out the open window and then he was gone in a flash of yellow light" Sakura looked skeptical of what her best friend was saying.

"Yeah, sure Ino" Sakura said dismissively "next thing you're gonna tell me is that Tsunade-samas' face is really as wide as the monument depicts" Ino gave Sakura a withering look and then turned her attention to the two figures they were approaching. Her eyes bulged when she laid eyes on Narutos form and she looked back at Sakura pointing to him.

"Look! That's the guy that I saw in the window" she exclaimed excitedly. Sakura glanced at the man Ino was pointing at and turned back to her excited friend

"Ino, that's just Naruto. I doubt he knows any Jut-" Sakura stopped as she realized what she had just said. She looked over at Naruto to make sure she wasn't mistaken "NARUTO!" she yelled as she broke into a run to get to him with Ino following close behind

Naruto waved energetically "Hi Sakura-chan! Long time no see" he said cheerfully. Sakura and Ino came to a stop in front of Naruto and looked up at him.

"Yeah" Sakura breathed "it sure has" she was stunned by how he had changed. She drank in the tight black T-shirt and the way it hugged his chest and stomach. She wasn't too surprised that he was taller than her now by a good three inches and that his hair was longer. What did surprise her though was the way he styled his hair. It was kept out of his eyes by hitai ate and his bangs were beginning to frame his face.

He looked like the Yondaime. She thought about it and didn't think it too odd that he had styled his hair after his hero.

Suddenly Naruto looked towards the forest in and smiled "are you guys having a meeting or something?" he asked. Sakura and Ino were surprised that he had sensed the other members of the Rookie nine before even they had. Shikamaru just sighed.

"yeah" he said lazily "we've been meeting up once a week since you left" this surprised Naruto and it showed on his face so Shikamaru continued "it was Kibas idea, he said 'I hate to think of how far behind him we are at this point, just imagine how strong he will be after three years of training with a sannin' so we decided to meet up once a week and have a group sparring session to test our skills and push ourselves. And once Lee found out he forced his team to join us saying it was a "most youthful™" idea. It just seems so troublesome to me but I didn't have a choice." He said in his usual lazy fashion.

Just then the rest of the rookie nine came out of the forest. Naruto smiled as he took in all their appearances (same as canon). As they made their way towards Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino and Sakura Kiba was the first to notice the new member of the group. Instinctively he started sniffing the air to see if he knew the scent

"that's weird" he said slightly disturbed which caused Hinata and Choji to look at him in surprise while Shino maintained his usual stoic persona "that guys scent is familiar but I can't place a name" he sniffed again heavily "it smells like… frogs and fox?" he said not sure if his nose was working correctly.

Hinata was the first to recognize the "stranger" with their friends "I-i-its N-naruto-kun!" she said in surprise as a faint blush began to appear on her cheeks. Kiba, Choji and even Shino looked at her in surprise before they grinned and ran off to great their friend, well Kiba and Choji did while Shino stayed back with Hinata.

Naruto waved enthusiastically as his friends ran to greet him "hey guys! Long time no see!" he said energetically. Kiba stopped in front of Naruto while Choji, who did not have the same kind of control where he could stop on a dime, just scooped Naruto, and in turn Kiba into a bone crushing hug. Chojis over-enthusiastic greeting caused everyone else to chuckle except for Shino who still remained silent.

"Choji… Can't breathe, Let Go" Naruto gasped out while Kiba struggled to escape the deadly grip. Choji chuckled as he let his two friends down. Kiba began gulping down air as if he had just run non-stop from Konoha to Suna at top speed.

"Welcome back to Konoha Naruto" Shino said stoically. Naruto grinned awkwardly at Shino; they had never really been friends due to Shinos' stoic disposition and Narutos' exuberance. Then Naruto noticed that someone was missing.

"Hey" Naruto started "where's Hinata?" he asked. He heard a faint "EEP" come from behind Shino. Naruto raised an eyebrow at him and Shino motioned to behind his back. Naruto made his way around Shino and saw Hinata standing there apparently hiding from something with her eyes closed. Naruto cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"ummm Hinata?" he asked. She froze up with her eyes wide. She slowly turned her head to look at her, her blush becoming painfully apparent. Naruto smiled "how's it going Hinata? Long time no see"

Hinata couldn't handle the sudden undivided attention she was receiving from her long time crush, so she did the only thing she could do. She fainted. Naruto blinked for a second, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The rest of the group just chuckled.

"She still does that?" he said aloud "she should really get that checked out! That could be dangerous if she does that on a mission" he said with a thoughtful look on his face. Kiba chuckled "actually Naruto" he said "that's the first time she's done it in…" he pretended to think "since you left actually"

Naruto became confused "I wonder why that is?" he said not catching the hint. Suddenly he heard a sigh in the back of his mind, followed by a dark chuckle '**honestly kit! You are denser than I thought**' the demon fox said between burst of laughter 'why do you say that Kyubi?' Naruto asked his tenant. The fox sighed '**I'm not even going to bother explaining it to you. I'll let you figure it out in your own time. Let's just hope you're not all senile by then**' the fox said exasperated. Naruto mentally shrugged 'whatever' and with that he returned to reality to find Sakura waving her hand in front of his face. He blinked once and stood up from the crouched position he had been in when Hinata fainted

"sorry 'bout that" he said while rubbing the back of his head "I guess I zoned out for a minute" he said sheepishly.

Sakura sighed "as I was saying" she said "why don't we all have a spar with Naruto to show him how strong we've become and to test his skills?" Sakura suggested. Naruto thought about it. He wanted to do it. He just wasn't sure if they could handle his strength.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea" he said to the surprise of everyone there, including Hinata who had just regained consciousness "It's not like I don't want to! It's just that I'm not sure if you guys are ready for my level of strength" he said doing his best to explain without sounding conceded. He failed miserably.

"OH! You just think you're better than us don't you?!" Sakura accused "well let's just see how you handle my level of strength" with this said, everyone except for Naruto and Sakura jumped away. Sakura stood up straight and tightened the fingerless gloves she had on her hands and took a stance.

Naruto was about to say something but the look in Sakuras eyes said that there was no getting out of this one; he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. This only served to infuriate Sakura more as she charged at the blonde who, in her opinion, was standing too still. She jumped up in order to increase the effect of her already insane strength. She shot her fist forward to strike. She had expected him to dodge. She expected to feel the ground give way under her impressive strength.

What did happen was something she didn't expect. She was stopped. She had closed her eyes the moment she realized Naruto wasn't going to dodge the attack. She thought that if he didn't move away from one of her full strength attacks, he would crumble like a pile of bricks and never rise again.

There was a collective gasp as she was stopped. She opened her eyes slowly only to look at her closed fist being held in the hand of Naruto. The realization that he had been able to stop punch with such apparent ease proved just how much stronger he was. Sakura looked past the hands and looked into his face. What she saw sent her through a loop. Where she had expected to see a pair of blue eyes, she saw a set of yellow eyes with barred pupils with red rings around them, like the black around Gaaras eyes.

He smirked at her "my turn" he said as he suddenly cocked his outstretched arm back, pulling Sakura along, and suddenly shot it forward sending Sakura flying.

She remained in the air for a few moments until she was caught by Naruto. They landed in a training ground just outside the village. The rest of the group, now accompanied by team Gai, arrived moments later. Lee, who had seen the entire dispute, was the first to speak "That was a most incredible display of your Flames-of-youth™, Naruto" he said in his usual overly loud style.

Neji stepped forward "well." He started "it seems you have brute strength down, but how are you in hand to hand combat?" he asked as he and Lee took up their respective stances "I must warn you though, I am a jounin" he said as he charged at Naruto with Lee close behind

Naruto was being pressed from both sides and he was finding it difficult to avoid being hit. He would dodge a sweep kick from Lee only to be knocked back by an open paled strike to the chest from Neji. It was painfully obvious to Naruto that these two had been fighting side by side since he had left with Jiraiya and that they were good at it. He jumped back from what would have been a particularly nasty axe kick to the head from Lee. He held up a hand to stall their advance on him as he caught his breath.

"Okay" he said once he had regained his breath "that was a nice warm up, but let's take of the training wheels" this statement shocked Neji along with everyone else who was watching, including Asuma and Kakashi who had arrived shortly after the start of the spar '_WARM UP? I was going all out and he thought that was a warm up? What is this guy?_' thought Neji as he fought to regain his breath

"I agree Naruto! If we are to fan the Flames of our youth, we must go all out" Lee said in his usual style as he reached down and pulled off his training weights. He let them drop with a thud leaving a crater. "Shall we?" he asked as he retook his stance.

Naruto smirked and held up a hand "one moment please." He said as he took his vest and dropped it to the ground with a heavy thud and without hesitation, tore the black T-shirt of. He stood there in his mesh undershirt and ANBU pants. He didn't notice the blushes that adorned the faces of all the women in the clearing. He raised his right hand in a half ram seal and stood there motionless. Suddenly, a five branched spiral appeared in between his shoulder blades, each branch of the apparent seal ran to a different limb and wrapped around and ended in a smaller spiral. He opened his eyes and smirked "Uzumaki level five restriction seal: KAI!" he yelled and the seal on his body shined brightly and then disappeared. Suddenly his Chakra seemed to double as he jumped up and down experimentally as if to get used to his new freedom. He looked over at Tenten "hey Tenten, you mind having a Kenjutsu spar with me once I'm done with these guys? I'd like to try my mom's Kenjutsu style in actual combat" Tenten could only nod dumbly in response while Kakashi stared dumbly at the mention of Narutos mother

Naruto motioned for Lee and Neji to come at him but Neji raised a hand to stop the advance "I'm out" he said "I'm not so arrogant as to push myself past my limits; I was giving it my all earlier. You're on your own Lee" he walked over towards the rest of the group as Naruto and Lee faced off. Naruto crouched down to the Gama stance "let's dance!" he said before he and Lee disappeared to all but Kakashi and Asuma

Lee came at Naruto with a reverse roundhouse aimed at his ribs that Naruto grabbed. He used Lee's momentum to throw him into a tree before quickly giving chase only to have a right hook aimed at his face. He ducked the fist and retaliated with a left uppercut to the chest that Lee blocked by crossing his arms. Lee brought his Knee into Narutos' gut and sent him tumbling backward for a few feet before he flipped onto his feet.

Naruto reached into his hip pouch ad produced a three pronged kunai. At the sight of it Kakashi dropped his cool exterior "oh my god" he said breathlessly as he stared at his student holding his sensei's prized technique. Lee pulled out a kunai of his own in preparation for another confrontation. Suddenly Naruto tossed the Kunai towards Lee's feet. Lee jumped over the kunai and returned to his stance but when he looked towards where Naruto was he only saw a yellow flash and heard Ino exclaim "I TOLD YOU SAKURA" he was confused until he felt cold metal pressed against his throat.

Lee sighed and dropped his kunai "that was a most youthful fight Naruto!" Lee exclaimed loudly "but I must ask, what was that technique that you used to disappear? It did not look like any shunshin I have ever seen before!" Naruto grinned and said only one word "Hiraishin" there was a collective gasp from the group around him. Asuma was the first to ask the question that all but Kakashi were wondering "but, how do you know that technique? It was the Yondaimes special technique and he never taught it to anyone"

Naruto grinned "I know" he said "but after telling me about my parents, Jiraiya gave me my inheritance and the scroll for the technique was part of it." The implication of what he had said was slow to sink in but when it did, it caused uproar.

Sakura was the first to voice the statement they all had little doubt believing but needed him to say it "so does that mean that you are-" "the Yondaimes son?" Naruto finished for her "Yes it does" he said proudly. There was a collective "wow" from the group

Shikamaru, uncharacteristically, became very excited "I knew it! I won the bet Asuma-Sensei! Pay me my one thousand ryo!" he said waving his hand in a "gimme gimme" motion. Asuma payed out Shikamarus money while grumbling about "stupid closet genius'"

Naruto grinned at the display Shikamaru was putting on but quickly remembered his offer to Tenten "Hey Tenten!" he called across the clearing. She looked up at him "yeah Naruto?" she asked. He smiled "you still up for that Kenjutsu match?" he asked. She grinned at him "of course"

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**A/N: hope you all liked the chapter even though I suck at fight scenes! If anyone has any suggestions for me they would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3: Crossing blades Part 1

**A/N #1: Okay guys, OMG. Thank you all so much for the support. The early reaction to this story, in four days, was beyond what I could have hoped for in four weeks. By current count, on 3/4/13 at 4:50 pm Eastern time (US and Canada) this story has 24 followers and 25 favorites. That is 10x what I had hoped for in the first week! I cant articulate into words how grateful I am. Thank you.**

**A/N #2: From here on out, I will be updating atleast once a week. I hope. With Track and school and me looking for a job (don't know where yet) im very tight in the time department. Please bare with my slowness and enjoy.**

**Also… I don't own Naruto. Kishi-san said I couldn't have him.**

"naruto"-speaking

'_naruto_'-thought

"**naruto**"**-**kyubi in mindscape

'**naruto**'/'naruto'-link between **bijuu**/jinchuriki

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Chapter 3: crossing blades. Part 1

Naruto smiled "you still up for that Kenjutsu match?" he asked. Tenten grinned at him "of course I am" she said.

Tenten pulled out one of her weapons scrolls and pumped chakra into it. In a puff of smoke there were enough swords to supply everyone in the clearing with one. Tenten picked up a simple Tanto with a black handle. She looked to Naruto with a smile "take your pick" she said indicating the large selection before her.

Naruto waved a hand dismissively "no need" he said as he reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a white storage scroll and another T-shirt that he quickly put on along with his weighted vest. He ran through several handseals and winced as the seal that he had released burned itself back onto his skin. Finally he unrolled the scroll and placed a hand on the single seal array and pushed chakra into it. In a puff of smoke, there lay a Katana with a red sheath with the Uzumaki clan swirl on it, lotus stylized cross guard and crimson handle with silver accents. There was a small chain hanging off the hilt extending about six inches before it ended in what looked like a set of claws.

Tenten began assessing the situation. She quickly realized that Naruto had the advantages of speed, stamina, reach and physical strength where as her only advantage was that she had more experience, but something about the blade he was holding made her feel as if her experience didn't matter. Naruto positioned the Katana on his back so that the handle was peeking over his left shoulder. The hiss of metal being drawn rang out in the clearing as Naruto and Tenten drew their blades. Tenten couldn't help admire the blade along with everyone else. Everything from the curve of the blade to the way the hilt melted into the cross guard. There was an inscription of 永遠竜の爪* on the hilt of the blade.

Tenten stared at his blade intently. She felt as if she should know this blade, but she didn't know why. She had to know. She cleared her throat "hey Naruto?" she started "does that blade have a name by any chance?" she asked.

Naruto grinned "yes, it's the Eien ryū no tsume (claw of the eternal dragon)" he said conversationally.

Tenten gaped at him "w-what!?" she all but yelled "you mean the blade that is said to be forged from the claw of the legendary dragon, Shen-long? (so I used the DBZ dragons name! Sue me!)"

Naruto grinned even wider "yeah" was his only response which caused everyone else to sweetdrop.

Tenten was absolutely thrilled "but the scrolls I've read say that the blade was lost in the last shinobi world war! Where in the elemental nations did you find it?" she asked. She wanted nothing more than to inspect and study the blade.

Naruto was about to reply when Kakashi spoke up "that's the blade your mother left you. Isn't it, Naruto?" he asked knowingly. He already knew the answer; he had seen his mother use the blade before.

Naruto became serious "yeah, it is" he said "when erosennin gave me my inheritance we had to go to the ruins of Uzu to pick up most of the stuff from my mothers' will" he said solemnly but he suddenly perked up "we found so many jewels and treasures! Erosennin almost had a heart attack!"

Kakashi paled "she left you the Uzumaki clan fortune?" he asked disbelievingly

Naruto grinned "all of it! By Erosennins estimate I have enough money to renovate all of Konoha and still feed myself at Ichirakus for the rest of my life!" everyones eyes bulged at his statement but Kakashi was the first to recover.

Kakashi cleared his throat "well, enough about how much richer you are than the rest of us" he said in a joking tone but quickly turned serious "lets see what you can do with that blade" he said drawing a Tanto from a scroll from one of the vest pouches "Tenten, I think you should leave this to me" he said as he revealed his sharingan eye "that is a dangerous blade in the hands of someone with a lot of chakra" he explained before Tenten could protest

Naruto looked surprised; in all the missions he had been on with Kakashi he had never seen him use his Tanto. Sure, he knew Kakashi could use a Tanto but he had never even taken it out of the seal. He also wasn't sure if, even with his seals removed, he would be able to keep up with Kakashis Sharingan.

"Um Kakashi sensei" Naruto said hesitantly "I might need to use a special technique to keep up with you, even with my seals released" he explained.

Kakashi looked surprised "well if you don't mind, I'd like to see how you fair against me first without using any special techniques" Kakashi reasoned to the blonde. Naruto nodded hesitantly before releasing his seals again and taking up a stance. Kakashi noted how there were no openings in his stance and that there was a very minor flow of chakra to the blade from Naruto.

Kakashi made the first move. He charged at Naruto at full speed, intending to bring the blade down on Narutos head but was blocked at the last second. Kakashi brought his foot up and planted it into Narutos ches, sending him tumbling back.

Naruto was quick to recover and he charged in with a diagonal slash aimed at Kakashis shoulder but was parried by Kakashi who retaliated with a slash at Narutos stomach.

Naruto jumped back just barely escaping the blade by inches and soon was being forced back by Kakashis quick succession of slashes and stabs. Naruto, in a fit of desperation, pulled a kawarimi out of harm's way.

Naruto held up a hand to halt Kakashis advance "I think it's clear that I stand no chance against you in my current state" he stated bluntly

Kakashi nodded "true." He said "but what do you plan on doing to improve your speed so that you can keep up with me?" Kakashi asked

Naruto just smirked and sat down in a lotus position with his eyes closed. Kakashi gasped at not only the sight of the red rings around Narutos eyes but the chakra he was bringing into his system from seemingly everywhere. Kakashi had seen Jiraiya do this once before in a demonstration and had to have him explain it to him several times. Naruto was a toad sage.

Naruto opened his, now frog-like, eyes and smiled at Kakashi "you ready?" he asked calmly. Kakashi nodded hesitantly before charging again.

Kakashi was finding it harder to hit the blonde Gennin than before. He brought his tanto down in a horizontal slash and instead of dodging Naruto blocked the slash and brought his foot up and kicked Kakashi in the chest which sent him tumbling several feet. Naruto pressed his current advantage and in moments was trading blows with Kakashi. The sound of metal striking metal filled the clearing as the two seemingly danced around eachother in a deadly display of swordsmanship.

The two jumped back after several particularly close slashes. Kakashi was breathing heavily while Naruto only seemed slightly winded. Kakashi was the first to make any sort of move when he suddenly enveloped his blade in Raiton chakra. Seeing this, Naruto did the same with his fuuton chakra. Naruto, without moving from his spot, swung his sword in the direction of Kakashi. A large blade of wind flew at Kakashi and he just barely managed to dodge the devastating wind attack. As he landed, he noted the fact that every tree up to fifty feet behind him was destroyed. He decided he wasn't going to have another close call like that again.

Kakashi charged forward again with the intent to end this match quickly. He went on the offensive with a horizontal slash toward Narutos neck but was parried and followed by a stab at Kakashis stomach. Kakashi managed to avoid being run through by the Katana by pulling a kawarimi. He appeared behind Naruto and went to stab Naruto. His blade met no resistance as it passed through Narutos back and out his chest.

There was a collective gasp through the clearing and Hinata screamed in horror "NARUTO-KUN!" was all she was able to exclaim before she fainted

Naruto turned his head to look at Kakashi. He smiled sadly and said "Bakuhatsu Sa Seru (detonate)." Kakashis eyes widened and he jumped back just as the clone swelled up and exploded loudly. Kakashi was caught at the edge of the small explosion and was sent tumbling through the air. He landed with a thud about fifteen feet from where the explosion happened.

He propped himself up on his elbow and sighed "the Bakuhatsu kage bunshin no jutsu (explosive shadow clone technigue)?" he asked in a disgruntled tone "when did you learn that?"

Naruto walked out of the tree line casually "while I was traveling with Erosennin" he stated "he said it'd be good to have a few mixed in with the regular kage bunshin so that the enemy get a nice surprise when they dispel them"

Kakashi groaned as he stood up on shaky legs "well I must say Naruto you have improved greatly over the last few years." He stated proudly

Naruto grinned at the praise "thanks Kakashi-sensei!" he exclaimed happily before he seemed to remember something and he reached into his bag and pulled out a small orange book "this is a gift from me and Erosennin" he said before tossing the book to Kakashi who caught it in his right hand

Kakashis eyes widened in surprise and joy "this is the latest book in the Icha Icha series! It hasn't even hit the shelves yet!" he exclaimed happily

Suddenly there was a green blur and in the middle of the clearing stood the green beast of Konoha; Maito Gai "YOSH!" he exclaimed loudly "that was a most youthful display!"

Everyone stood there dumbfounded while Lee nodded in agreement. Naruto was the first to ask "umm, Gai-sensei? When did you get here?" he asked

Gai faltered but struck his "nice-guy pose" "I've been here since you and Lee removed your limiters!" he said enthusiastically "and I must say that I am most proud of my young pupil for handling the battle so well!

"OH GAI-SENSEI!" lee cried out with tears in his eyes

"Lee" Gai said with misty eyes

Everyone left almost immediately but Naruto couldn't remember why they did

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Suddenly Naruto was under the effect of the cursed sunset genjutsu as the two spandex clad ninja came together in a tearful embrace. Naruto let out a bone chilling scream before falling to the ground, foaming at the mouth. After the genjutsu subsided Gai carried Naruto back to the village and to the hospital to be brought back to a right state of mind.

* * *

**I know it took me a while to get this chapter up but I was struggling with writers block for most of the week and at one point I completely trashed it and started over.**

***- those are the Japanese Characters for the Blade name.**


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